Police are worried they’ll have to deal with nuisance bears the only way they can after the province ends its relocation program.

Bears who wandered into urban areas have often been relocated several times, but keep returning - one reason the provincial natural resources ministry is dropping its relocation program.

By:Curtis RushPolice Reporter, Published on Wed May 09 2012

Police warn that more nuisance bears will probably have to be destroyed as a result of the province ending its bear relocation program.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has quietly stopped its practice of trapping and relocating rogue bears, partly to save money and partly because it wasn’t deemed effective.

In a letter to the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police dated May 3, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister Carrie Hayward said the program “has been the least effective tool in managing the bear problem, with research showing that many relocated bears simply return to the area from where they were removed.”

In addition, the Star has learned that “bear technicians,” the first point of contact to deal with nuisance bears, will no longer be dispatched after dark.

These two measures combined will mean “a dramatic increase” in police calls involving nuisance bears, according to North Bay Chief of Police Paul Cook, who is also a vice-president of the chiefs association.

“More bears will die,” Cook said. “Our first option is to drive the bear back into the bush, but if police are in doubt about community safety, they’re going to be destroying bears.”

In Thunder Bay for instance, police responded to 38 bear calls last year; three of the bears had to be destroyed. Cook said those numbers are likely to climb.

Cook said it’s easier for police chiefs to defend the actions of an officer who kills a bear than the inaction of an officer when a bear goes on to hurt or kill a person.

“A one-year bear cub is a dangerous animal, in the wrong set of circumstances,” Cook said. “We have had the unfortunate experience of putting bears down who have wandered into schoolgrounds, or they wander too far into the city downtown core.”

If police are successful in scaring the bear away and the bear returns to threaten people, the bear will be shot. Police don’t have tranquilizer guns, Cook said.

The chiefs also argue that responding to problem bear calls will be a waste of frontline police resources, especially in Northern Ontario communities such as Timmins, Sudbury, Kenora and Thunder Bay.

Previously, the ministry has been the first to deal with problem bears, dispatching a “bear technician” to trap and relocate the animal.

The province’s 8-year-old Bear Wise program, which educates people about what to do if they encounter a bear, will continue to operate. So will the toll-free, 24-hour bear reporting hotline (866-514-2327). And the ministry will continue to track and collect information about human-bear interactions.

In emergencies, police should continue to be the first responders. But they’ve been told the ministry is moving from an active management model to one that emphasizes personal responsibility.

Police feel this government cutback will put them in the middle of an unwinnable fight — between animal-rights groups who want to save bears, and citizens who want protection.

Cook remembers a nurse with two small children being mauled while picking berries some time ago in North Bay. The nurse lived, but the bear was shot.

“We still got hate mail,” Cook said. “We can’t win.”

Be Bear Wise

to protect yourself

The Ministry of Natural Resources offers the following tips if you encounter a bear:

• Make noise as you move through wooded areas — especially where background noise is high, such as near streams and waterfalls. Singing, whistling or talking will alert bears to your presence, giving them a chance to avoid you.

• Travel with others if possible.

• Be aware of your surroundings by keeping your eyes and ears open.

• Do not wear music headphones.

• Keep an eye out for signs of bears, such as tracks, claw marks on trees, flipped-over rocks or fresh bear droppings.

• Carry and have readily accessible a whistle or an air horn, and bear pepper spray. Know how to use this spray — practise on a stationary object to get the feel for how the canister sprays, and to know its limitations

• Consider carrying a long-handled axe, particularly if you are in “back country.”

• Avoid strong fragrances that may cause a bear to be curious; put any food you are carrying in sealed containers in your pack.

• If you are out with a dog, control it. Uncontrolled, untrained dogs may actually lead a bear to you.

• While berry picking, occasionally scan your surroundings to check for bears, and rise slowly from your crouched position so you don’t startle any nearby bears. They may not recognize you as a human when you are in a crouched position.

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